Solstice
by Ivy Duff
Summary: Fire is gone, leaving behind the embers of old and the sweet nectar of new..." The battle between the Clans and the Dark Forest has passed and all the cats seem to be thriving peacefully. That is, until a shadow begins to loom over ThunderClan, threatening the safety of it and the other Clans by the lake, and ThunderClan's fate is left in the paws of two young cats.
1. Allegiance& prologue

**A/N: Thank you to my Friend Mau5girl for helping me come up with the prophecy and helping me edit my chapters. Hope you enjoy and reviews are welcome.  
**

**SOLSTICE - ALLEGIANCES**

_**ThunderClan**_

**Leader:** Bramblestar - dark brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Deputy:** Squirrelflight - dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Medicine Cat:** Jayfeather - grey tabby tom with blind blue eyes (_apprentice: Snowpaw)_

**Warriors: **

Lionblaze - golden tabby tom with amber eyes _(apprentice: Lilypaw)_

Bumblestripe - very pale grey tom with black stripes

Ivypool - silver and white tabby she-cat with dark blue eyes _(apprentice: Amberpaw)_

Toadstep - black and white tom

Icecloud - white she-cat

Foxleap - reddish tabby tom

Berrynose - cream coloured tom

Whitewing - white she-cat with green eyes

Birchfall - light brown tabby tom

Thornclaw - golden brown tabby tom _(apprentice: Dewpaw)_

Millie - striped grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes

Cloudtail - long-haired white tom with blue eyes

Brackenfur - golden brown tabby tom

Leafpool - light brown tabby she-cat with amber eyes, former medicine cat

Blossomfall - tortoiseshell and white she-cat

Rosepetal - dark cream she-cat

Graystripe - long-haired grey tom

Sandstorm - pale ginger she-cat with green eyes _(apprentice: Seedpaw)_

Poppyfrost - tortoiseshell she-cat

Brightheart - white she-cat with ginger patches

Briarlight - dark brown she-cat

Sorreltail - tortoiseshell and white she-cat with amber eyes

Cherrymist - ginger she-cat

Moleflight - brown and cream tom

**Apprentices:**

Amberpaw - pale grey she-cat with white paws, muzzle right ear and amber eyes

Dewpaw - grey tom with amber eyes

Seedpaw - very pale ginger she cat

Lilypaw - dark tabby she-cat with white patches

Snowpaw - white tom with amber eyes

**Queens:**

Cinderheart - grey tabby she-cat with blue eyes _(mate: Lionblaze, kits: Honeykit, Emberkit, Frostkit)_

Dovewing - pale grey she-cat with blue eyes _(mate: Bumblestripe)_

Daisy - cream-coloured long-furred cat from the horseplace

Hazeltail - small grey and white she-cat _(mate: Toadstep, kits: Cloverkit and Ashkit)_

**Kits:**

Emberkit - sooty-grey tom with lighter grey points and amber eyes.

Honeykit - golden tabby with light grey paws and mussel with blue eyes and bushy tail

Frostkit - grey tabby with blue eyes

Ashkit - black and grey striped tom

Cloverkit - grey, white and black tortoiseshell tom

**Elders:**

Purdy - plump tabby and former loner with grey muzzle

Dustpelt - dark brown tabby tom

Spiderleg - long-limbed black tom with brown underbelly and amber eyes

_xxx_

_**ShadowClan**_

**Leader:** Blackstar - large white tom with one jet-black fore-paw

**Deputy:** Rowanclaw - ginger tom

**Medicine Cat:** Littlecloud - very small tabby tom _(apprentice: Badgerpaw)_

**Warriors:**

Oakfur - small brown tom

Smokefoot - black tom

Toadfoot - dark brown tom

Crowfrost - black and white tom _(apprentice: Sparrowpaw)_

Tawnypelt - tortoiseshell she-cat with green eyes

Scorchfur - dark grey tom

Shrewfoot - grey she-cat with black feet

Tigerheart - dark brown tabby tom

Pinenose - black she-cat _(apprentice: Beetlepaw)_

Fernclaw - cream and grey tom

Starlingwing - ginger tom

Ivytail - black, white and tortoiseshell she-cat

Stoatfang - skinny ginger tom

**Apprentices:**

Sparrowpaw - brown tabby she-cat

Beetlepaw - jet-black tom

Badgerpaw - black she-cat with white strip on face and underbelly

**Queens:**

Snowbird - pure white she-cat _(mate: Scorchfur)_

Dawnpelt - cream-furred she-cat _(mate: Starlingwing, kits: Flamekit and Redkit)_

Kinkfur - tabby she-cat with long fur sticking out at all angles _(mate: Fernclaw, kits: Stormkit and Willowkit)_

**Kits:**

Flamekit - ginger tom

Redkit - creamy ginger she-cat

Stormkit - grey she-cat with long fur sticking out at all angles

Willowkit - brown tabby she-cat

**Elders:**

Applefur - mottled brown she-cat

Snaketail - dark brown tom with tabby striped tail

Ratscar - brown tom with long scar across his back

_xxx_

_**WindClan**_

**Leader:** Onestar - brown tabby tom

**Deputy:** Ashfoot - grey she-cat

**Medicine Cat:** Kestrelflight - mottled grey tom

**Warriors:**

Crowfeather - dark grey tom

Whiskerstep - light brown tom

Whitetail - small white she-cat

Nightcloud - black she-cat

Gorsetail - very pale grey and white tom with blue eyes

Weaselfur - ginger tom with white paws

Hearthertail - light brown tabby she-cat with blue eyes _(apprentice: Furzepaw)_

Harespring - brown and white tom

Leaftail - dark tabby tom, amber eyes

Emberfoot - grey tom with two dark paws

Sunstrike - tortoiseshell she-cat with large white mark on her forehead

Breezepelt - black tom with amber eyes _(apprentice: Boulderpaw)_

**Apprentice:**

Boulderpaw - large pale grey tom

Furzepaw - grey and white she-cat

**Queens:**

Swallowtail - dark grey she-cat _(Mate:Harespring)_

**Elders:**

Owlwhisker - light brown tabby tom

Sedgewhisker - light brown tabby she-cat

Webfoot - dark grey tabby tom

_xxx_

_**RiverClan**_

**Leader:** Mistystar - grey she-cat with blue eyes

**Deputy:** Reedwhisker- black tom _(apprentice: Hollowpaw)_

**Medicine Cat:** Mothwing - dappled golden she-cat _(apprentice: Willowshine)_

**Warriors:**

Greymist - pale grey she-cat _(apprentice: Troutpaw)_

Mintfur - light grey tabby tom

Icewing - white she-cat with blue eyes

Minnowtail - dark grey she-cat

Pebblefoot - mottled grey tom _(apprentice: Rushpaw)_

Mallownose - light brown tabby tom

Robinwing - tortoiseshell and white tom

Beetlewhisker - brown and white tabby tom

Petalfur - grey and white she-cat _(apprentice: Rainpaw)_

Grasspelt - light brown tom

Mossystone - brown and white she cat

Mosspelt - tortoiseshell she-cat with blue eyes

**Apprentices:**

Rushpaw- light brown tabby tom

Hollowpaw - dark brown tabby tom

Willowshine - grey tabby she-cat

Troutpaw - pale grey tabby she-cat

Rainpaw - tortoiseshell tom

**Queens:**

Duskfur - brown tabby she-cat(_Mate:Mintfur, kits: Ripplekit,Riverkit,Stonekit_)

**Kits:**

Ripplekit - brown tabby tom

Riverkit - light grey tabby she-cat

Stonekit - grey tom with brown legs

**Elders:**

Dapplenose - mottled grey she-cat

Pouncetail - ginger and white tom

* * *

The sun shone brightly over the grassy meadow below where a flame-coloured tom was stalking a piece of prey. He licked his lips and was about to pounce on the vole when the wind shifted, bringing with it the scent of another cat. Unfortunately, the vole smelled the tom and scurried away while the flame-coloured tom was occupied with finding the owner of the scent. He looked back and saw that the vole had disappeared into its hole.

"Mouse dung," he spat, looking behind him to see a dark grey she-cat with matted fur and yellow eyes padding towards him. "What is it, Yellowfang? I was about to catch that."

"You can catch prey anytime, Firestar. This cannot wait," Yellowfang hissed. "Follow me."

Firestar followed the grouchy she-cat, not sure where she was taking him. They passed by a faint brown tabby and Firestar sighed. Bramblestar had already lost two of his nine lives; Firestar prayed he wouldn't lose anymore. Soon enough, Yellowfang stopped at StarClan's sunning rocks. There were already a couple of cats basking in the sun.

"Ah, Yellowfang! Glad to see you finally came." A blue she-cat sat, looking down at Firestar and Yellowfang with a serious expression on her face. Firestar leapt onto the sunning rocks behind Yellowfang and stared at the others.

"What is going on, Bluestar?" the fiery-coated tom asked, sweeping his gaze over all the cats present. "Hello, Whitestorm and Hollyleaf," he added, noticing the fluffy white and jet black cats by Bluestar's side.

"Trouble is brewing in the Clans, Firestar," Yellowfang cautioned, sitting down slowly.

"Trouble is _always_ brewing, Yellowfang," Hollyleaf sighed, "but, unfortunately, Yellowfang is right. ThunderClan is in more trouble than ever before."

"But why are you telling me this? I'm not exactly in charge of ThunderClan anymore," Firestar reminded them sharply.

"Maybe not, but you are still entitled to do _something_," Bluestar pointed out, getting up from her rock and stretching. "You can deliver your first prophecy as a StarClan cat to Jayfeather."

* * *

"Fox-dung! Hunting will always be difficult, even in my dreams, when I can _see!"_ a grey tom snapped angrily.

"Hello, Jayfeather," said a pleasantly familiar voice from behind him. Jayfeather whipped his head around to see a flame-coloured pelt that he remembered so fondly.

"Firestar! It's wonderful to see you again! What's up?" Jayfeather cried, bounding over to his former leader.

"I wish I could say the same to you, Jayfeather, but I come bearing grave news." Firestar's expression conveyed his anxiety, and Jayfeather stopped in his tracks.

"There is a darkness that will fall on ThunderClan, one that could destroy all the Clans," Firestar tried to explain.

"What can I do?" Jayfeather blurted as he noticed Firestar's voice fading. The ThunderClan medicine cat was alarmed to see that the legendary flame-coloured tom had vanished. Now, all that Jayfeather could make out was his voice, which was growing fainter by the second.

_"Fire has gone, leaving behind the embers of old and the sweet nectar of new..."_

_"_Jayfeather, wake up!" A clear voice had cut into his dream. Jayfeather woke up and shook his head. It was the middle of the night.

"Briarlight...?" he asked groggily, sitting up straight in his nest.

"It's Cinderheart. She's having her kits!" Briarlight responded with excitement. The news jolted Jayfeather awake and he raced to the nursery, quickly reviewing the kit-birth procedures, like he did before every kit-birth. Thoughts of the new ThunderClan kits occupied Jayfeather's mind for the rest of the night, causing the medicine cat to temporarily forget all about Firestar's ominous prophecy.


	2. Chapter 1 From kits to apprentice

**SOLSTICE - CHAPTER ONE**

_The grass felt soft on my paws as I strolled through the woods. I heard the soft scuffling of a fat, juicy mouse and picked up its scent directly to my left. I crouched low to the ground just like a warrior, readying myself for the pounce, when suddenly, I felt something itchy on my back._

I woke with a start and shook off my fur, frustrated to see a small ball of moss roll off my back and right into the paws of a small grey tom. _Mouse dung!_

"Emberkit! I was having the best dream!" I meowed in annoyance, fluffing out my pelt and jumping out of my nest. I hoped my brother would have a good reason for waking me up.

"Sorry, Honeykit." Emberkit waved his tail awkwardly, looking genuinely sorry. "We didn't mean to hit you. Frostkit and I were just playing catch with the moss and then..." Emberkit trailed off.

"Oh, Honeykit, you're awake! Great! Let's play warriors!" Frostkit exclaimed, bounding over to my brother and I.

"Aww, I don't want to!" I whined. "I'm _always_ ShadowClan or RiverClan. I want to be ThunderClan for a change."

"But, Honeykit, you're the best evil cat of all of us!" Emberkit meowed.

Ugh! I was _not _an evil cat! I ran at Emberkit who dodged my advance, bumping into Frostkit as he did. This time, I jumped onto Emberkit and the three of us rolled around the nursery like a kit tornado, crashing into walls and tearing up nests.

"Emberkit, Honeykit, and Frostkit! _What_ is going on in here?" an angry yowl caused my littermates and I to stop in our tracks and look up in chagrin. It was our mother, Cinderheart.

"What were you thinking, rough-housing in the nursery?!" Cinderheart snapped, striding quickly over to a grey she-cat whose belly was round with a litter of her own. "You are not the only ones living here, you know!"

Cinderheart turned her attention to the pregnant she-cat. "I am so sorry, Dovewing. I thought that my kits would know how to act like real warriors by now, since they'll be apprentices within the next few sunrises," Cinderheart apologized, sweeping her glaring gaze across her three kits. Frostkit crept to our mother's side meekly as I glowered at Emberkit. It was all his fault - none of this would've happened if he hadn't called me an evil cat!

"Don't worry about it, Cinderheart. They aren't bothering me," Dovewing replied with a _mrrow_ of laughter at the kits' antics. Just then, a black and white ball of fluff came barreling into the nursery.

"Emberkithoneykitfrostkit!" the fluffball, who was actually one of Hazeltail's kits, Cloverkit, squealed. The little tom was so excited that he had slurred all of Cinderpelt's kits' names together. "Come on! Purdy's gonna tell us one of his stories!"

Then the kit bolted back out of the nursery. "What are we waiting for?" I called to my littermates. "Let's go!" None of us wanting to miss one of Purdy's great stories, we began racing after Cloverkit to the elders' den.

"Whoa!" came a startled meow and I almost tripped over my paws trying to stop myself from running into the ginger she-cat. Emberkit shot past me, still in hot pursuit of Cloverkit.

"Oh, sorry, Squirrelflight," I said hurriedly, detouring around the warrior. "But Purdy's about to tell another of his stories!" I heard Squirrelflight chuckle as I sped off again after my littermates.

"Nah, nah, I got here first," Emberkit mewed, his amber eyes shining with good-natured humor.

"Mouse brain," I growled teasingly, nudging him before turning my attention to Purdy.

"So, you kits are here for a story, I presume. Ah, I'll miss all this attention when you three become apprentices," Purdy said wistfully, signalling at my littermates and I with his tail.

"Don't worry, Purdy. Me and Cloverkit won't be apprentices for another two moons," Ashkit reminded him.

"That's right, and with Dovewing's kits on the way, I suppose I will still have kits to tell stories to." Purdy smiled. "All right, then, let me tell you the story of when I caught the biggest mouse any cat has ever seen..."

I walked out if the elders den at high noon and almost ran into Dewpaw. "Oops, sorry, Dewpaw!" I mewed, embarrassed.

"Eh, don't worry about it. I was just bringing moss for the elders," he said, making a face as he padded off.

I went back to the nursery to see that my mother already had a mouse, as did my sister and brother. It was newleaf and prey was plentiful. I walked over to Emberkit and he moved over so I could share.

"Thanks," I muttered through a mouthful of mouse.

"Remember to behave this afternoon, you three," Cinderheart said, licking my fur with her tongue.

"Ooh, stop it!" I cried, ducking away from Cinderheart's licks. It was almost our apprentice ceremony - we didn't need our mother to groom us anymore!

"We can groom ourselves!" my brother protested, echoing my thoughts.

"Cinderheart!" someone called from the entrance of the nursery. When I saw the sleek golden tom, I squealed with happiness.

"Lionblaze," Cinderheart welcomed her mate. The handsome tom strolled over and put his muzzle to hers. Then, our father looked down at us and smiled.

"How are my lovely kits today?" he asked, giving us each an affectionate lick. I preened under my father's attention.

"Will you be watching our apprentice ceremony?" Frostkit wondered in excitement.

"Of course I'm going to watch! I can't believe you're already going to be apprentices," he said proudly. I shuffled my paws, slightly embarrassed by the praise.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" Bramblestar's voice rang clear throughout the camp. All three of us were at the base of the Highrock in seconds. I could feel that my brother and sister were just as nervous as I was for our apprentice ceremony. When the entire Clan had gathered at last, Bramblestar spoke again.

"I have gathered you here because there are three kits who have reached their sixth moon, and it is time for them to become apprentices," Bramblestar explained, beckoning all three of us to stand. From beside me, Emberkit ran his tail along my back reassuringly; he always knew what to do when I was nervous or sad.

"Frostkit," Bramblestar announced, calling my sister up to the Highrock. "From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Frostpaw. May StarClan light your path to becoming a warrior." Bramblestar scanned the other cats in attendance until his eyes rested on light brown tabby.

"Leafpool, I think it's time you took on your first apprentice as a warrior. Since you became a warrior, you have shown loyalty and determination. You will mentor Frostpaw and I hope you will pass on your wisdom and ability to change and learn quickly with each new situation that comes," Bramblestar said. Frostpaw hurried over to Leafpool, who had padded up to the Highrock, and touched muzzles with her.

Bramblestar turned to my brother next. "Emberkit, from this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Emberpaw. May StarClan light your path and lead you to make the right decisions always," Bramblestar said, flicking his tail this time towards a white she-cat.

"Icecloud, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You have become a great warrior under the influence of Whitewing and Brackenfur. You have shown a lot of spirit and enthusiasm towards your duties and I hope you will pass this quality on to Emberpaw," Bramblestar meowed. Icecloud approached Emberpaw the two touched muzzles. I watched my brother's eyes sparkle with joy from my place at the foot of the Highrock and I smiled to myself. That would be me very soon. But, until then, I looked up at Bramblestar nervously. I hated being alone.

"Honeykit, from this day on until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Honeypaw. May StarClan shine their light on you when you need it most," Bramblestar said, shifting so he was facing a brown and cream tom.

"Moleflight, you are ready to take on your first apprentice. Your former mentor, Rosepetal, taught you to become a brave warrior. You have shown intelligence and strength that I hope you will pass on to Honeypaw," the Clan leader continued. I trotted over to Moleflight and placed my golden muzzle against his brown one.

"Frostpaw! Emberpaw! Honeypaw!" ThunderClan chanted our names.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, our apprentice ceremony ended and cats started disbanding from the Clan meeting. I watched Jayfeather, Snowpaw, and Briarlight all go into the medicine cat's den.

"They're going to try to make the medicine den a bit bigger," Moleflight piped up, seeing my wandering gaze. "I mean, with three cats living there full-time, plus any more who might get hurt, it only makes sense."

"Can I help?" I meowed, excited at the opportunity to be able to help my Clan for the first time.

"Perhaps. But, for now, I thought you might find it fun to try hunting," Moleflight told me with a twinkle in his eye. I gasped at the thought.

"Really? Already? Aren't you supposed to give me a tour of ThunderClan's territory first?" I asked.

"You'll get your chance for patrol tonight. We'll just stay close to camp for now," Moleflight assured me.

"Would you mind if we came along?" came a cat's mew from behind us. Moleflight and I turned to see a pale ginger cat approaching with a smaller pale ginger she-cat.

"Not at all, Sandstorm!" Moleflight replied good-naturedly, allowing Sandstorm to catch up before the two parties headed off into the forest. I followed the two warriors, keeping in step with the smaller cat, Sandstorm's apprentice, Seedpaw.

"Is hunting difficult?" I asked her, wide-eyed.

"Nah, don't worry, you'll be fine," Seedpaw said airily, swishing her tail. "I was, my first time out. In fact, I mastered the hunter's crouch in..."

Too preoccupied to listen to Seedpaw's bragging, I looked over my shoulder to see Emberpaw and Frostpaw heading out with their mentors. I figured they must be off on border patrol, though I couldn't help wishing they were hunting for the first time with me.

Moleflight and Sandstorm led us to a small clearing not too far from camp and then settled down to begin the training session. "Let's begin," Moleflight meowed as Sandstorm took Seedpaw deeper into ThunderClan territory.

"First, taste the air," Moleflight instructed. I opened my mouth. I could taste three different ThunderClan scents, which made sense. I was smelling Moleflight, Sandstorm, and Seedpaw. To my surprise and delight, I also tasted a strong vole scent.

"The wind is blowing towards us. That's important because if the wind blows our scents towards the prey, it will smell you and hide quickly," Moleflight explained, padding over towards me and crouching down to demonstrate the hunter's crouch.

"You try. Stay low to the ground." Moleflight got up and checked my stance. He lifted my dragging tail up with his paw. "Keep it off the ground and don't let it move," he coached.

Moleflight crouched again, this time displaying how to stalk the prey. "Creep forwards slowly, being cautious to watch for any twigs or leaves." I tried to imitate him, only treading lightly on one leaf, causing a slight crackle.

"Careful, the prey will hear even the softest rustle. Next, shift your weight onto your haunches and spring forward!" Moleflight demonstrated, then pointed at a large oak leaf with his tail.

"Pretend you're hunting that leaf," he instructed. I pointed myself at my target, creeping a little closer, remembering to keep my tail up, and finally, jumping onto it.

"Not bad for your first try," Moleflight said in praise. My ears pricked as I heard rustling, thinking I would have a chance to test my skills for real, and turned to see Seedpaw coming back with a thrush in her mouth and a superior expression on her face. Sandstorm had a shrew.

"Nice work, Seedpaw," I meowed as she passed. The she-cat gave a self-important grin and nodded, as if she'd expected the praise. The apprentice struck me as a little conceited, and I wished to myself that I'd been able to catch something that would give Seedpaw's thrush (and her ego!) a run for the money.

"Let's head back to camp," Moleflight suggested, as the four of us circled back towards the heart of ThunderClan territory.


	3. Chapter 2 Border patrol mayhem

**SOLSTICE - CHAPTER TWO**

**NA/: hey guys sorry it took so long, with editing and school I found it hard to find time. enjoy and reviews are welcome.****  
**

"...And this is the piece of land was won back from ShadowClan," Moleflight explained as we explored a small stretch of land. Not wanting to provoke an argument with ShadowClan, we quickly hurried on.

"So, are you ready to take on your apprentice roles?" Lilypaw asked, coming out of nowhere and trotting up to my side.

"I hope so," I meowed nervously. Did they even assign apprentice duties to brand new apprentices?

"Don't worry, everyone has to go through it on their way to becoming a full warrior. I'm sure you'll be fine," Lilypaw mewed kindly. "But then there's training."

"What will happen then?" I asked, confused and feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Well, apprentices train together. If you ever need to get back at your brother, then..." Lilypaw smirked, leaving her sentence hanging meaningfully. I smiled as I understood what Lilypaw had been cryptically trying to tell me. Just then, I heard the unmistakable scuffling of prey and I started tasting the air, trying to find out where the sound was coming from.

"Come on, Honeypaw, you don't want to lose the patrol!" Lionblaze called back to me when he realized I'd stopped.

"Sorry, I thought I heard a vole or something," I meowed back, slightly embarrassed.

"You know, we could stop and hunt. There's plenty of time till sundown," Squirrelflight said thoughtfully.

"Just make sure to stay in our territory! We haven't shown you the WindClan border yet," Moleflight cautioned.

Every cat went in an opposite direction. I went to the west, staying in the forest with a view of the lake. I stopped and opened my mouth and tasted the air, trying to remember every step of the hunting procedure. A jolt of excitement coursed through me as I discovered the scent of a rabbit; if I could catch one, my Clan would be so proud of me!

The smell led me a little ways off, close to a hill. Thankfully, the wind was on my side, and I immediately hunkered down into a hunter's crouch. I was just about to pounce when the rabbit picked up my scent and bounded off quickly, terrified. I ran as fast as I could, not willing to let this rabbit get away, and took a wild leap. I felt its fur snag beneath my claws and I cried out joyfully. I'd caught it! I bit the rabbit's neck swiftly, killing it, then looked around to see where I was. I had run up to a river and, I realized nervously, I had come very close to crossing the WindClan border. I sighed with relief, thanking StarClan the rabbit had not crossed the river.

"Hey, fuzz ball, what are you doing stealing prey from our territory?" A lean black tom with amber eyes was barreling up to the river's edge with a look of fury on his face.

"What are you talking about? This is our territory, not yours!" I meowed back, confused. The tom turned to face me, the river the only thing dividing us.

"Don't lie. I saw you drag that rabbit back to your territory. Is ThunderClan sending its apprentices to steal from WindClan now?" he replied, still glaring furiously.

"That's a load of badger droppings and you know it!" I countered, moving to protect my prey. "I caught this fair and square."

Just then, I accidentally slipped on the bank of the river and almost fell in, getting my front paws wet. I cringed. I had to be careful that I didn't get in trouble here.

"I didn't know ThunderClan were such scaredy-mice," the arrogant tom sneered.

"We're not!" I growled, digging my toes into the soft riverbank.

"Come on over here and face me, then!" he snapped, flashing his claws.

"Honeypaw, what's going—" Lilypaw mewed, coming up behind me, but stopping abruptly upon seeing the black tom.

"Breezepelt. What do you want?" I recognized Lionblaze's meow.

"Your apprentice here stole that rabbit from our territory. I saw her," Breezepelt muttered in response.

"Honeypaw? What do you have to say for yourself?" Lionblaze asked, and I could see disappointment glinting in his amber eyes. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Squirrelflight and Molefight rejoining our patrol with their fresh kill.

"I didn't step over the border!" I cried, defending myself. The last thing I wanted was for Lionblaze to be ashamed of me for something I hadn't even done! "I killed the rabbit three paw-steps away from the river. I counted."

"And hedgehogs have learned to fly! Yeah, right, you counted!" Breezepelt spat, obviously as determined as I was to come out on top. "This proves you're a liar and that ThunderClan is just a bunch of fox-hearted cowards. You can't even admit the truth!"

Great StarClan, now I was mad. How dare he call me a fox-hearted coward! I lunged forward, but Lilypaw flicked her tail warningly in front of me. Lionblaze pushed his way past me to stand at the river's edge, glaring Breezepelt down.

"That was uncalled for. Is this really how you get your enjoyment; from accusing apprentices of stealing so you can attack them? Such a cat has no right to call himself a warrior!" Lionblaze yowled across the river, unsheathing his claws just in case.

Lilypaw and I looked on in silence. Were we really going to fight over a rabbit?

"Breezepelt, what are you doing?" came a voice from over the horizon. It was an older-looking brown tom, followed by two other cats, a dark grey tom and a ginger tom with white paws.

"That apprentice there stole prey from our land, just look at her front paws!" Breezepelt protested, breaking out of his stare-down with Lionblaze for a moment to glower at me. I shrunk back against Lilypaw's flank, feeling genuinely afraid that he would cross the river and rip me to shreds. After all, I couldn't exactly disprove his claims; my paws _were_ wet and muddy from the bank, but...

"What about the rabbit?" I asked boldly, having a sudden flash of inspiration. "It's not wet. Besides, there's no blood or fur on your side of the river."

Squirrelflight bent down and sniffed the prey. "She's right. It's dry as a bone." The ginger she-cat gave Breezepelt a strange look.

"She caught that rabbit on our side," Breezepelt said matter-of-factly.

The brown WindClan tom sighed. "Breezepelt, we're leaving." He turned to glance at Squirrelflight. "Tell Bramblestar that he'd better teach his apprentices to pay more attention to the borders; next time you won't get off so easily."

With that, the WindClan patrol left, the dark grey tom swatting his tail over Breezepelt's back angrily as they walked away.

"Come on, we have to get back to camp and report this. Do you want some help carrying your prey back?" Squirrelflight asked. It took me a few moments to realize she was talking to me.

"Uh, I'm fine," I meowed, worry tingeing my voice. Breezepelt had really scared me. I picked up the rabbit in my mouth and started walking back to camp with the patrol. Lilypaw was on my left flank with two mice hanging by their tails in her mouth. When we reached camp, I saw Seedpaw's eyes widen at the sight of the rabbit I was carrying. It was obvious that the young she-cat was jealous, but nabbing that rabbit didn't seem to me like such an accomplishment anymore, considering.

"Why don't you take that into the medicine den? I'm sure they would appreciate it," Moleflight suggested, padding over to my side with an appreciative glance at my catch.

I directed my paws away from the patrol heading to Bramblestar's den, glad for the distraction. The medicine den was bigger on the inside than it appeared to be on the outside. There was a little pool of water forming in the corner under a leak in the ceiling and a little place that looked like a storage area.

"Hi, Honeypaw, what brings you here?" Briarlight asked kindly, scooting to the den's entrance to meet me.

I dropped the rabbit and pawed it over to her. "I thought you would like this," I meowed quietly. As Briarlight's eyes lit up, a grey tom with pale blue eyes walked out of the storage room and scowled.

"Look, Jayfeather, Honeypaw brought us a nice juicy rabbit!" Briarlight exclaimed, trying to liken him to her excitement.

"Yay. Thanks, Honeypaw," he murmured with his usual lack of enthusiasm. I nodded and left as subtly as I'd entered.

"Honeypaw! Hey, Honeypaw!" An excited mew rang out in my general vicinity and I turned to see Emberpaw running towards me. He skidded to a stop beside me and touched his tail to my flank in greeting. Emberpaw proceeded to tell me all about his day, but I was too busy noticing how late it was getting to be. Every cat was starting to go to their caves, so I nudged Emberpaw towards the apprentices' den.

Inside, Amberpaw and her brother were already sleeping, and Frostpaw was talking to Seedpaw. Then I noticed something that didn't belong.

"Ivypool? Cherrymist? What are you two doing in the apprentices' den?" I hissed.

"The warriors' den is too crowded. Again," Cherrymist complained, curling up and putting her head on her paws.

I shrugged and padded over the sleeping cats to my nest, settling down into the soft bedding. Emberpaw snuggled down next to me and laid his tail protectively over my back as I fell asleep, sending my fear of the Breezepelt confrontation to the back of my mind, at least until dawn.


End file.
